The Hard Times/Utilitarianism Unit Study for 9th or 10th grade

See Week 1 for information on credits, goals, and materials list for this study.

Week 5

Weekly Reading Assignments

Week 1: Book the First, Chapter I through Chapter V ("The One Thing Needful" through "The Key-Note")
Week 2: Book the First, Chapter VI through Chapter IX
("Sleary's Horsemanship" through "Sissy's Progress")
Week 3: Book the First, Chapter X through Chapter XIV
("Stephen Blackpool" through "The Great Manufacturer")
Week 4: Book the First, Chapter XV through Book the Second,
Chapter II ("Father and Daughter" through "Mr. James Harthouse")
Week 5: Book the Second, Chapter III through Chapter VI
("The Whelp" through "Fading Away")
Week 6: Book the Second, Chapter VII through Chapter X
("Gunpowder" through "Mrs. Sparsit's Staircase")
Week 7: Book the Second, Chapter XI through Book the Third, Chapter II
("Lower and Lower" through "Very Ridiculous")
Week 8: Book the Third, Chapter III through Chapter V
("Very Decided" through "Found")
Week 9: Book the Third, Chapter VI through Chapter IX
("The Starlight" through "Final")

Assignments

Discussion: A lot of revelations about character are made in these chapters. In "The Whelp," we find out that Tom has been self-serving and yet he is gullible. Perhaps the snuffing out of any individuality or passion was the cause? He was certainly well educated, but he seems to lack the heart to really embrace anything or anyone. In speaking of his and Loo's education, Tom says they were "crammed with all sorts of dry bones and sawdust."

In a recent news story in North Carolina (May 2005) it was said that this current graduating high school class is one of the most tested of all time. Many people are wondering if the stress was worth it. Open up a discussion with your student about true education--how much cramming is necessary? How much is an individual education dependent on the student's desire to truly learn?

The deeper meaning of these chapters is bound up in the difference in classes--the poor workers, the wealthy middle class, and the stuffy aristocracy. In "Men and Brothers," a union is formed. Learning more about unions might be something your student is interested in. Which character do you think represents Dickens' own feelings about unionization?

This week's reading has some difficult chapters, so the assignments are lighter. Class structure and unionization are both deep topics.

What do you think Mr. Harthouse meant here:
Mr. Harthouse to Tom: "You are a piece of caustic, Tom" (in "Fading Away")

Some things to note:

Terms indicative of the times:

• warming-pan
• lamplighter

See if you can find two more biblical references in these chapters!

Essay Question

Louisa meets the Coketown people up close and personal in "Fading Away." It is said that Louisa knew more about "the ways of toiling insects than of these toiling men and women." Are there a class of people today in America who are like Louisa? Or, are there a class like the toiling women and men in Coketown? Who are they? Where are they? For extra credit, find a newspaper clipping to support your answer.

"What an easy swell he is!"
Tom Gradgrind

A "swell" is a fashionable dresser--another older term!

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